Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Surprise! Wood floors

We just bought an older home (late 50's) and in the 2nd bedroom they had really ugly carpet. We pulled it up and underneath are beautiful wood floors. There are several paint splatters and one spot that looks like the finish has worn off.

My question is, can we lightly sand the floor (maybe a hand belt sander) and put seveal coats of poly down or do we have to get one of those big sanders and do the whole floor?

Also, does it matter if we put poly over varnish?

Go to www.finishingwoodfloors.com for some very helpful info.

I've been searching the forums to see if a hand sander would be okay on a hardwood floor, instead of having to rent a big sander. It seems no one has answered 'yes a hand sander is okay' or 'no don't use a hand sander no mater what!'. :)

I have a small hallway which needs refinishing, and I'd like to know if I can use the hand sander. Oh, and I didn't see my question answered on other site, the link posted in this thread, either.

I personally would advise against using a hand belt sander on a wood floor. There are to many ways that you can get it to dig into the floor and create all kinds of valleys in the wood. Your best bet is to go to a local rental center and see what they have avaliable. Home Depot and Lowes are another source.

I strongly advise you to get a drum sander. In addition to those valleys and gouges you will create with a hand sander (and there is no way to avoid this), anything over six or eight square feet is just too much to do with a hand sander. I tried to do 15 sq. feet with a hand belt sander and about killed myself doing it. Just rent one of the big drum sanders. You'll be glad you did.

Hi:
One alternative to sanding is using a liquid striper, you will still have to sand at the end. Doing the final sand by hand will still take a while but, if what you want to do is avoid a sander, you may want to think about it.

To let you know from experience

I started off with the hand sander and two weeks later (granted night and weekend work) I rented a big sander and sanded everthing in about three hours (800 sq. ft.)

Get some rought sandpaper for the first sanding to strip the floor really well then get some smooth for the final sanding. Don't skip that process. Also try to get more than one coat of poly on your floor it will really help your finish. Besure to lightly sand between coats. And you can stain then put poly. on top.

Good Luck

I also tried to sand my floor with a hand sander, and I gave up after a week. by all means rent the floor sander. They aren't that expensive to rent (you go through tons of paper with a hand sander) and they are pretty easy to work with. I just did my floors this weekend, and while it took two weeks to do a 4x4 patch with the hand sander, I had the whole floor done in five hours with the floor sander.

The guy does some impressive work!

Before.........

http://www.floridawoodfloors.net/restore2.jpg

After....

http://www.floridawoodfloors.net/restore3.jpg

Ken Fisher

www.floridawoodfloors.net/installers.htm

Do not rent a drum sander. They are difficult to use and don't get close to the edges of the room. They gouge the floor - particularly if you have soft wood floors and, even if you are an expert, you would have a hard time doing a good job because the machines from a rental place are not professional grade and often have been abused. Rent a vibrating (oscillating) rectangular type of sander. It works like a random orbital sander. Even an amateur can't make a mistake and they sand right up close to the walls and into the corners. Here (NY) they are $40/day or $28/4hours. 4 hours would be enough for one room. You will only be refinishing a floor so you will probably need one pass with a 60 grit and two with 100. Move the machine sideways along the length of the boards (slowly) and return half of the width of the machine lower so you actually pass over the same strip twice. When done, vacuum really well and wipe with a tack cloth. If it is a soft wood use a wood conditioner before staining. Put stain down in strips so you can wipe off excess. Then urethane. Call me if you want more details. I have just been through hell with floors and I know all the problems - from experience.

Good luck,

Berry

berry;
I am a pro and i have rented your orbital and it is great for screen and recoats but will do nothing on paint or very old finishs. it leaves a blotchy appearence because it does not remove all of the old finish. Its also like trying to hold on to a tank when its in action. give me a drum and edger any day. Just my opinion of course. Oh by the way those are my pics in this post and we used an e-z 8 drum sander, r-7 edger and a 16 in buffer. the house was over 2500 sqft and it all was done this way

Phil

www.locyshardwoodfloors.com